Sports – Phunzira

Community Football and Netball League

June 10, 2024August 30, 2024 Phunzira

Nyumba Ya Masambiro has successfully run a community-wide football and netball league for mens and womens teams around the community. The League ran at weekends from 7^th June to 8^th July. 36 Football and Netball teams from the wider area competed and all teams won financial prizes to go towards their clubs for equipment such as new balls, new nets, new bibs and kits, as well as travel funds to allow them to continue to play against other teams in the wider area in the future.

Played at the football and netball pitches at the top of the big hill above Ruarwe Village, the games drew huge crowds from around the area. Bringing wider communities together to support their teams and each other, the joy was palpable and spirits really high.

Community, Malawi, Sports, Youth

Youth club football tournament

May 7, 2024 Phunzira

NYM Youth Club football team took part in a football tournament playing the youth team from Khomola Village in our catchment area. They had an afternoon of hype and entertainment together on Friday 3rd May at the NYM youth hall and in the gardens around the centre (think a Ruarwe version of a Pep Rally!). This was followed by a match at the Ruarwe football ground at the top of the hill on Saturday 4th May in the afternoon. Everyone was in really good spirits and both teams played well, with an end result of 3:2 to the Khomola youth team. With a winners prize of MWK3,000 and a losers prize of MWK2,000 paid out for the players to buy essential supplies for their teams.

The NYM youth club is going from strength to strength with 50-70 kids turning up to each session, which still focus on education, creativity and sports and exercise. Having a safe space for kids to hang out and socialise is so important for Ruarwe village and the surrounding areas and linking up with other youth clubs and teams builds a network in our wider area.

NYM is now preparing for a Senior Youth Football league for both men’s and women’s football teams in the area. With 40 Senior Youth and community teams taking part (20 men’s teams and 20 women’s teams), and further cash prizes to keep the clubs supplied with footballs, boots and kits. The league is due to begin in mid-June so watch this space for upcoming updates!

Community, Donations, Malawi, Sports, Youth

Donation of Netball Dresses to Nyumba ya Masambiro

March 17, 2019August 9, 2019 Phunzira

We are so grateful to the team at RUMS, the medical school attached to University College London, for their donation of netball dresses to Nyumba ya Masambiro. The dresses were brought out to Malawi and the staff at NYM was delighted to show them off immediately.

The dresses are being stored at Nyumba ya Masambiro but word has been passed around that any local team is welcome to come and borrow them when they have a competitive match in the area. The dresses were used for this purpose by Khomola Village team in a match against Banda Village. Khomola were so thrilled with the use of the dresses that they were spurred on to a 3:2 win against Banda!

We are always keen to promote and encourage female participation in sport and netball is very popular in Malawi, and a sport that women are happy to play. This donation of dresses and their availability for use is already encouraging more matches being scheduled. We are also delighted to see that women’s netball matches in recent months are also starting to draw bigger crowds, more like those often seen at the men’s football matches so we are starting to see a move towards more equality in sport, which is such a fantastic achievement by these community netball teams. RUMS – Thank you so much for your donation of these dresses and their contribution to gender equality in sport in this area in Malawi – Tawonga Chomene!

Community, Education, Malawi, Sports, Volunteers, Youth

Volunteers join Phunzira from France

September 7, 2018January 2, 2019 Phunzira

We were lucky enough to host three volunteers from France for a period of one month. Leo Berger, Aurelien Lluis and Kartik Sharma arrived in Ruarwe towards the end of May and immediately got stuck in with a great number of activities at the education centre Nyumba ya Masambiro. During their time with Phunzira they rebuilt the bridge across the stream into the NYM land after it had been washed away by the rains, they completed a data analysis plan for the maize mill, they got involved with tutorials and youth club sessions, they rewrote the guide to NYM which is available in the library for any visitors to read, they got involved with community activities such as football games at the village football field at the top of the hill and in their spare time they walked down to Usisya and back to get to see a bit of the surrounding area!

The staff at the education centre was delighted with their energy, joy and enthusiasm and it was wonderful to see how much could be achieved in such a short space of time. Thank you to all three for their hard work during their time in Ruarwe!

Donations, Malawi, Sports, Volunteers, Youth

Donation of Footballs and Netballs To NYM Youth Club

March 20, 2018August 1, 2018 Phunzira

We would like to extend a huge thank you to former volunteer Phillip Zheng, who donated three footballs and two netballs to the NYM Youth Club. Having made the long journey from the UK out to Ruarwe, we now very much look forward to setting up some youth sports tournaments using these new balls, and we are sure that the Ruarwe Youth will very much enjoy these generous gifts. Yewo Phillip!

Sport is such an important part of Nyumba ya Masambiro’s activities, giving both younger and older youth members the opportunity to relax, keep fit, play and socialise with friends and for the older youth it helps to prevent the temptation of falling into excessive drinking as well as it keeps them entertained and motivated to keep fit. Football and Netball are hugely popular throughout Malawi and Ruarwe village has 2 teams alone who can regularly be found at the top of the hill either training or playing vibrant matches against surrounding village teams. The atmosphere is fantastic and it is great to be able to support the next generation of players through this fabulous donation!